Fan Voting For Entertainer Of The Year And New Artist Of The Year Awards Now Open For The 48th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards, "Country Music's Party Of The Year™"

STARTING TODAY Country Music Fans Have the Power to Vote for Entertainer of the Year and ACM New Artist of the Year at www.VoteACM.com

ENCINO, Calif., March 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Academy of Country Music, the Ram Truck brand and Kohl's Department Stores announced today that fan voting is now open for the Entertainer of the Year award , which will be powered by Ram for the fourth year in a row , as well as the ACM New Artist of the Year award, which will be presented by Kohl's. Country music fans everywhere have the power to choose the winners by casting their votes now at www.VoteACM.com. The awards will be given out during the 48 th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, to be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Sunday, April 7, 2013 at 8:00PM, live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.This year, for the third time, the ACM Awards will feature the ACM Ram Red Carpet to welcome country's biggest stars to the show.

"The Ram Truck brand is proud to partner with the Academy of Country Music for their 48 th Award ceremony. Ram truck fans and country music fans are one and the same as they are cut from the same cloth of authenticity with a genuine work-hard, play-hard attitude," said Fred Diaz, President and CEO - Ram Truck Brand and Chrysler de Mexico, Chrysler Group LLC. "We are excited to find out who Ram and country music fans will select as their choice for Entertainer of the Year. We congratulate all the nominated artists."

"Once again, fans have the power to vote for two of the ACM's most exciting categories, and we're proud to have great partners both in Ram Trucks and Kohl's to help make it happen," said Bob Romeo, CEO of the Academy of Country Music.

Entertainer of the Year fan voting – powered by the Ram Truck brand – will once again provide fans the opportunity to vote for the Academy's most prestigious award, Entertainer of the Year, for which Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and Taylor Swift are nominated. Fans will also help choose the ACM New Artist of the Year presented by Kohl's, for which Brantley Gilbert, Jana Kramer and Florida Georgia Line are the nominees. Fan voting for Entertainer of the Year and ACM New Artist of the Year is now open at www.VoteACM.com. New Artist of the Year voting will close at 8:00PM ET / 5:00PM PT on Sunday, April 7, 2013 (before the LIVE show starts), and Entertainer of the Year voting will close during the third hour of the LIVE broadcast.

Leading up to the show, fans can watch interviews and exclusive performances with the three final ACM New Artist of the Year nominees as they receive their trophies for winning their respective first round categories on GAC's "ACM New Artist of the Year" special, premiering March 25th at 8:00PM ET and re-airing multiple times until voting closes on April 7. Additional air times and dates can be found at GACtv.com/ACM.